warning label we could put on our crazy spear theorists for the benefit of the rest of the world. not for outside consumption. please deliver home if found lost in the world. tax burden. mitt romney pushes back after calls from the obama campaign and prominent republicans to disclose more of his tax returns. going down. a vehicle plunges into the elevator shaft of a parking garage. and crack up. an iceberg twice the size of manhattan splits off from a greenland glacier. good morning, everyone, i'm lynn berry. those stories and more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc.

we're going to begin this morning with a taxing situation. presumptive republican presidential candidate mitt romney has been under increasing pressure from the obama campaign to release additional years of tax returns. now romney is even dismissing calls from within his own party. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on all of this. tracie, good morning to you. >> hi, lynn. good morning, everyone. it's not just democrats as you mentioned who want to see more of what romney has earned in recent years but now prominent republicans as well. mississippi governor haley barbour, alabama's governor bentley also calling on him to release those returns. no word from the romney camp that any further release is on the way, and they are not alone. texas governor rick perry, a former republican rival says that romney should be as open as possible. meantime on the other side we've got republicans criticizing the

obama campaign for what they're saying about mitt romney. john mccain calls the campaign disgraceful for targeting those tax returns and romney's time with bain capital. he calls it chicago-style sleazy campaigning and saying the focus should the be on5 trillion added to the deficit. meantime former new hampshire governor john sununu said he shouldn't have said that president obama needs to learn to be an american. what he really meant is he needs to learn the american formula for business. lynn? >> all right, tracie, thanks. last night on the rachel maddow show, dan rather talked about the refusal to disclose the financial records and he said in his view it's hurting romney's campaign. >> he and his staff must realize that their position is on the defensive. they want to be talking about the economy, the lack of jobs, and barack obama's record. instead, they're against the ropes and they just, to mix a

metaphor they're being beaten like a rented mule. and they've got to get off of it. sometime before the convention. i'll be very surprised, i frequently am surprised, as you know, i'll be very surprised if he doesn't release some tax returns. he needs to release at least three to five years and probably eight to ten years. that's more or less the precedent that goes along. if he doesn't do that he's going to stay on the defensive all summer. i just don't see how his staff can allow that to happen. >> don't miss the rachel maddow show weeknights right here on msnbc. a skywest airlines pilot wanted in connection with a colorado murder attempted to steal an empty airplane from a small airport. the man then killed himself after he couldn't get the plane off the ground. nbc's kurt gregory has the details. >> reporter: a skywest pilot's plans to steal a plane tuesday at the st. george municipal airport were thwarted. 40-year-old brian joseph hedglin

had parked his motorcycle, jumped a fence to the airport, gained access to a skywest jet, and started its engines. according to officials he backed the plane up, then moved it forward clipping the terminal. he was not able to get the plane airborne and instead crashed into several empty cars in the parking lot. a police officer patrolling the area noticed a motorcycle with its engine still warm and shortly thereafter discovered the plane. >> he immediately notified skywest that they had a plane in the parking lot with the engines running. they had a person here who was able to come out and shut down the plane. >> reporter: officers arrived on the scene, entered the plane, and found hedglin dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. officials in st. george later confirmed that the motorcycle did long to him and he was wanted in colorado springs in connection with the death of his girlfriend. >> we took every precaution we felt we needed to take based on believing that he was the suspect in our murder. >> reporter: hedglin had been on

the run for the last several days. it's not clear why he ended up in utah, but officials are still investigating. kurt gregory, nbc news. well, elsewhere, a suspect is in custody in alabama after a shooting spree at a crowded bar that left 17 people injured. the bullets flew at the coppertop bar in tuscaloosa yesterday, sending glass flying and patrons running for cover. five of the victims are still hospitalize and 12 were treated and released. the alleged gunman nathan van wilkins seen on surveillance video with an assault rifle entering the bar near the university of alabama, surrendered to police did ten hours after the shooting. he's also suspected of being involved yesterday in another shooting and an arson case in a city about 17 miles east of tuscaloosa. well, now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in new york, a car plummeted down a five-story elevator shaft. it happened at a parking

garage where an attendant drove the vehicle into the elevator, thinking the lift was waiting for him. well, it was not. the car fell some 40 feet, trapping the driver and a co-worker who were pinned inside the wreckage and had to be freed by firefighters. south carolina is all too familiar with the destruction of hurricanes. and a test was done there to show what can happen if buildings aren't reinforced against those heavy winds. a group that works with insurance companies put the building through 130-mile-an-hour gusts. in california a man was arrested for building a secret house. this is very stealthy. the problem is he did it in a county park and tried to hide it with camouflage. but sheriff's deputies say they were impressed with how much work he put into the small cabin. he apparently had a lot of time. he installed bunk beds, medicine cabinets and bookshelves. but they weren't so thrilled with the large marijuana plants they say he was raising on his property. yeah.

and, finally, in indiana, the grass is always greener, especially when you take a shortcut. one man painted his lawn green after he says he got so tired of seeing all the yards in his neighborhood looking brown from this summer's drought. that's one way to do it. and now for a look at your national weather we turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins. light bulbs went off across the country like hey, let's go. >> green paint. >> yards probably look like that with all the dry weather out there. >> the heat is getting to some people. the drought condition, you know, day after day, and here we're stick in the middle of summer and it probably won't end until we really get to maybe september or so. yesterday, just, you know, we were used to the fact at this point where kansas, missouri, kentucky, indiana, were going to see very hot conditions. but look what happened in detroit yesterday. it was 102 in detroit, michigan. even more impressive than that, syracuse, new york, one of the snowiest spots and snowiest cities in the entire country,

was 101 degrees. so this heat just, it's widespread and it keeps bouncing back and forth. it got very hot yesterday in d.c., too. and this morning we're holding onto the heat. the heat index, it feels like 86 degrees this morning in new york city when you start your day. the only spots that are hotter than that, louisville ties that and st. louis feels like 89 this morning. that's just gross. when you're that hot to start it's going to be a hot finish, too. we do have some thunderstorms cooling a few people off here, especially up in wisconsin. anywhere from green bay down to central michigan. but the hot weather is what's going to dominate the map once again today. you'll be lucky if you get these thunderstorms this morning from grand rapids to flint, maybe detroit. that will cool you off. the other thing we've got to watch today, lynn, chance of severe thunderstorms from boston to new york, d.c., back here to pittsburgh. could have some damaging wind and hail, and we don't want to get power outages, which is possible. >> especially. bill, thanks so much. coming up big ben boosts stocks. barbie boosts business. and a divorced mother of two tries to boost her chances of

selling her house. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up the return of an ace. revenge at fenway. and a mascot hits the skids. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. ♪ ♪ ♪

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welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry and here are some of the top stories making news this morning. during a reconstruction of iraq, an estimated $6 billion to $8 billion has been wasted. a special inspector general's report says the exact amounts lost to fraud and abuse can never be known, because of bad recordkeeping by the pentagon and other agencies of the u.s. government. the boy scouts of america is reaffirming its policy of banning gays after a two-year review. the group's controversial exclusion of gays was strongly criticized by gay rights activists. >> penn state could have its football program shut down by the ncaa due to the school's actions in the jerry sandusky

sex abuse case. the department of education is also investigating whether penn state violated federal campus safety law. the food and drug administration has approved a new weight loss drug. the fda cleared qsymia for adults who are obese and have high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol. and an iceberg twice the size of manhattan has separated from a glacier in greenland reportedly due to warmer ocean temperatures. the 48 square mile chunk of ice is the second major piece of the glacier to split off in the past three years. now here's your first look at this morning's dish of scrambled politics. former presidential candidate john mccain told politico he chose former alaska governor sarah palin over mitt romney for vice president in 2008, not because of romney's tax returns, but because she was a, quote, better candidate, after an almost immediate uproar over the comment, mccain angrily clarified that what he meant

was, palin was better fit for his campaign. meanwhile, yet another republican, presidential candidate ron paul, says romney should released more of his tax returns. paul said, quote, it looks like releasing tax returns is what the people want. the white house has rejected a petition to remove talk show host rush limbaugh's show from the american forces network. a statement said they do not censor content and it's important service members have access to a variety of viewpoints. actor rob lowe, who starred in "the west wing" sent a tweet complaining about the presidential race. it said, quote, the rhetoric of both campaigns so far is stultifying, uninspiring and divisive. politico says singer alicia keys explains why she supports president obama at a summit in philadelphia. she said, quote, there is a really genuine spirit that comes from him. it's a really human spirit. give me someone human. sir elton john told matt lauer on "today" show

appreciates president obama's support of same-sex marriage, and also said he has a soft spot for george w. bush because of what he did for aids. but he added, quote, i'm glad he's not in power anymore. and george w. bush himself seems to agree. he told the hoover institute it was awesome being president for eight years but he doesn't miss it. bush said he has, quote, no desire for fame and power anymore. he said, quote, i crawled out of the swamp and i'm not crawling back in. and that is your morning dish of scrambled politics. now here's your "first look" at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,805 after rising 78 points yesterday. the s&p gained 10, the nasdaq added 13. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei was down 28 points while in hong kong the hang seng tumbled 215. stocks rose tuesday after fed chair ben bernanke told congress the central bank would consider ways to stimulate growth if the economy further weakens.

bernanke's lack of specifics before a senate committee drove stocks lower in early trade. he did say the economy is suffering but eventually just the fact the fed chief said policymakers would consider a variety of tools to stimulate growth led to late-day optimism it would happen sooner rather than later. also helping stocks the dreaded fall of quarterly earnings has not materialized. despite its quarterly profits falling 12%, goldman sachs still managed to beat forecasts. coca-cola also beat expectations. rising over 1.5%. though earnings season so far, 72% of companies have beaten estimates. fertilizer company mosaic also beat the street and rose over 5%. despite johnson & johnson cuts its full year forecast, it climbed to its highest level in more than three years. maltle jumped 10% thanks to better barbie sales. not all news was good. excitement over yahoo!'s new ceo initially drove shares higher

but by day's end yahoo! slipped lower. watch intel today. the chip maker reduced its growth forecast after the bell. and, finally, a recently divorced oregon woman with two children is using unusual marketing to sell her home. a "for sale" sign in her front yard reads, husband left us for a 22-year-old. house for sale by scorned, slightly bitter, newly single owner. as for buyers, she only has one criteria. the sign also reads, no adulterers need not apply. coming up the white sox strike back. an injured hurler makes a full recovery. and why mascots should stick to cheering. plus, one oriole crashes and tumbles in a good way. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. book one. tell me, o muse... famous town of troy... book three. book 12.

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welcome back to "first look" i'm lynn berry. in sports they often say baseball, it comes down to one pitch. and last night it did between the new york mets and the washington nationals. here's nbc's fred roigen. >> they say good teams find a way to win. that's what the nationals did last night taking on the mets in washington. after they scored extras in the ninth new york took the lead back in the 10th. the rbi double into the gap and the mets were up 4-3. bottom of the inning, one aboard for rookie sensation bryce harper and he delivered a triple

over the head of scott hairston. in came the tying one. pedro was brought in to end the inning. instead he did this, a wild pitch. in came the winning one. the nats rallied twice to beat the mets. david ortiz wearing a boot on his right foot. he's out at least a week with a strained achilles. nothing wrong with kevin youklis. hit a ton of home runs at fenway and here's his first as a member of the white sox. a three-run shot into the monster seats. chicago won 7-5. the jays ortiz also injured monday. cc sabathia made his return from the d.l. and was lights out. struck out the first three hitters he faced. andruw jones provided all the offense cc needed. a three-run homer in the second. the yanks get back their ace and win it easily 6-1. a great grab to show you from the orioles game. tracks it down, hits the wall

and went head over heels. reynolds put his body on the line coming over the wall but it was all for naught. orioles lost it 6-4. finally a trick this poor mascot has performed thousands of times. but on this occasion riptide wiped out. there he goes. hit the dirt, slammed into the wall. that didn't stop old riptide. popped right back up, hops back on that four wheeler. the life of a minor league mascot isn't glamorous but it's always funmi. that's your first look at sports. i'm fred roggin. >> nope. now for another look at your weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. bill, how -- gear is like protective. like a pillow. >> yeah. that was funmi for me because i actually did that on a friend's snow mobile. >> and you didn't have -- >> flipped it. oh, no, i was safe. but i couldn't quite make the turn and flipped, yeah. >> like to have that on video. >> good morning, everyone. once again.

bad thunderstorms roll through areas of vermont last night through the adirondacks of upstate new york. we're going to do it again today. it's going to be another hot day today, near 100 in washington, d.c. but thunderstorms will be the big story later this afternoon. again, some of those could be on the strong side. we could have some power outages and large hail to deal with, so from pittsburgh all the way to the eastern sea board and new england area, we'll watch that later on today, lynn. >> thanks, bill. kate hudson wishes she hadn't gone there. and jackie chan takes it all back. plus this brand is apparently back on the market. your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. yeah, you -- you know, everything can cost upwards of...[ whistles ] i did not want to think about that. relax, relax, relax. look at me, look at me. three words, dad -- e-trade financial consultants. so i can just go talk to 'em? just walk right in and talk to 'em. dude, those guys are pros. they'll hook you up with a solid plan. they'll -- wa-- wa-- wait a minute. bobby? bobby! what are you doing, man? i'm speed dating! [ male announcer ] get investing advice

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in cincinnati, jerry

springer announced that he is endorsing obama. don't get too excited obama still has to win over judge judy and maury. so -- so still got to see where we end up. i heard that e! news is sending kim kardashian's step dad bruce jenner to cover the olympics. of course there's already a bit of controversy after it was revealed that part of his face was actually made in china. so we have to really -- i don't want any of that funmi business. >> and tonight jimmy welcomes actor jeff daniels. "today" contributing correspondent jenna bush hager and animal expert late night with jimmy fallon weekends at 12:35 local time on your nbc station. time now for some entertainment news. russell brand is apparently following the lead of his ex, and dating again. new york's daily news reports brand is seeing talent agent

isabella brewster, younger sister of actress georgiana brewster. >> know who that is? >> i was supposed to. yes, tom cruise arrived in new york to visit with suri. but today, tom and katie, the split news we're going to tell you about is about kate hudson. hmm. tmz reports she unwittingly walked by the hotel that cruise is staying in and she was suddenly swamped by paparazzi. speaking of paparazzi, tmz also reports that authorities have recommended the ringleader of the photographers who recently chased justin bieber down in l.a. freeway be the first person prosecuted under that new law that prohibits paparazzi from endangering people. okay. >> the law wouldn't work. >> okay. bob dylan is going to mark 50 years as a recording artist by releasing his 35th studio album "tempest" in september. relax bill karins.

despite just saying that he was going to quit action films to become quote the asian robert de niro, jackie chan has had a change of heart. i think i could hear your sigh of relief. i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc. but stay tuned "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. conservatives turn up the heat on mitt romney to release those tax returns no matter what's in them. the question is, will he do it? we could find out this week. meanwhile historically bad drought conditions cover about half the states in this country with worries now about the impact of global food supply. the question is, when will the rain come for those desperate farmers? and it's official, linsanity is over in new york city. the question is, are the knicks fools for not hanging onto the one good thing to happen to them over the last decade? it's "way too early" for this.